The rebirth of the Silk Road and the return of the Dread Pirate Roberts

Share This article

(There is simply no time to recap this issue in its entirety. If phrases like “The Silk Road” and “The Tor Network” are unfamiliar, have a quick look at this, then return.)

When Ross William Ulbricht was arrested on charges of being the Dread Pirate Roberts and, more importantly, the founder of the Silk Road, it hit the deep web community hard. It wasn’t just that they’d lost a leader, nor even that people had lost their faith in the anonymity of the Tor Network. Rather, Ulbricht’s alleged actions in protection of the Silk Road deflated much of the high-minded sense of moral righteousness that kept the movement full of life — the Silk Road was for drugs, sure, but that’s just people being free, man. When it became clear that Ulbricht had tried to enlist the services of a contract killer, at least once and perhaps more, much of that fervor died down to an embarrassed, sullen murmur.

Just over a month later, the Silk Road is back (you’ll have to find the .onion address for yourself). It looks almost identical to the original version, and already has hundreds of sellers offering drugs of all kinds — but what portion of these early listings are coming from the cops? That question seems to be ringing through the community, because whatever the answer may be, it is almost certainly not zero.

Though users are signing up, many do seem to be hanging back. The new Silk Road is both blessed and burdened by fame, easily attracting plenty of mainstream attention but using a name that its actual target demographic now associates with government infiltration — and with violence.

The new interface looks basically identical to the old.

Dealing with that problem will for some time be job number one for the new Dread Pirate Roberts. Like an online Spartacus, Ulbricht’s alleged moniker is now host to a whole new person whose adoption of DPR’s mantle has been both suitably dramatic and characteristically savvy; unlike Ulbricht, who seemed more comfortable writing libertarian screeds than promoting his business, the new DPR (or DPRs, as the case could very well be) displays a keen understanding of public relations.

If nothing else, the cops might want to start looking for people with a background in social media promotion. The new Silk Road employed a viral marketing campaign in the run-up to its launch, spreading cryptic clues and messages in binary that hinted at the site’s (re)release date. It’s worked incredibly well. The official Silk Road/DPR Twitter account sees the Dread Pirate SR laying out the philosophical framework for the site (freedom, freedom, freedom), fielding questions from reporters and online rubber-neckers, linking to promote positive coverage, and all the while managing to convey one simple, consistent message: this time, things will be different.

Dread Pirate Roberts Tweets: “While under my watch [Silk Road] will never harm a soul. If we did, then we are no better than the thugs on the street.” On an unrelated forum, the same pseudonym posted saying, “There are a wider variety of tools at our disposal than the so called murder-for-hire contracts, [tools] which are more peaceful and more effective.” That’s a comforting thought, though one wonders if such pacifism might waver a bit in the face of a few decades of jail-time. Still, the internet’s ability to sanitize a life of crime seems to have attracted a user-base as squeamish as it is self-righteous; whether or not the new DPR really is more benevolent than the old, he must at least pretend to be.

It’s been going rapidly through the roof since the closing of Silk Road at the beginning of October.

iron_dinges

The last few days have been particularly rapid.

Dozerman

Kind of unrelated, but are there any legitimate uses for TOR?

972mada

yes, for example living in China and trying to escape censorship or living in Wadiyah and insulting Aladeen :)

http://GPlus.to/Abhisshack Abhisshack

Hahhah excellent Reply 1000 Plus Oned Internetz to You :)

Zeratul Zum

Only if you are not an underling of the totalitarian state.

Barry Ferguson

“Probably the biggest addition to security on the new Silk Road is that it currently only allows vendors who can provide encryption-based proof of prior involvement with the original Silk Road. That helps protect against scams”

And/or building cases against people. Something about this new silk road seems a little too… shall we say… professional? I smell a massive sting op.

Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Copyright 1996-2015 Ziff Davis, LLC.PCMag Digital Group All Rights Reserved. ExtremeTech is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis, LLC. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis, LLC. is prohibited.